Terms to know
Reconstruction a period
of reuniting and rebuilding the South following the end of
the Civil War
Ten Percent Plan Lincoln’s
Reconstruction plan, which required that 10 percent of
voters in a state pledge loyalty to the United States before that state could rejoin the
Union
Thirteenth Amendment the amendment that made slavery illegal throughout the
United States
Freedmen’s Bureau an organization established by Congress to provide relief for all
the South’s poor people
Andrew Johnson vice president who became president upon Lincoln’s death
Black Codes southern laws that greatly limited the freedom of African Americans
Radical Republicans Republicans who wanted more federal control in Reconstruction
Civil Rights Act of 1866 act giving African Americans the same legal rights as whites
Fourteenth Amendment amendment guaranteeing citizens equal protection of laws
Reconstruction Acts laws passed to protect African American rights
impeachment process of bringing charges of wrongdoing against a public official
Fifteenth Amendment amendment guaranteeing suffrage to African American men
Hiram Revels first African American senator
Ku Klux Klan secret society that used violence to oppress African Americans
Compromise of 1877 agreement in which Democrats accepted Hayes’s election
to the
presidency in exchange for removing federal troops form the South
poll tax special tax people had to pay before they could vote
segregation forced separation of whites and African Americans in public places
Jim Crow laws laws that enforced segregation
Plessy v. Ferguson Supreme Court ruling that upheld segregation
sharecropping system in which farm laborers kept some of the crop
frontier an area that is undeveloped
Chisholm Trail a popular route for cattle drives from San Antonio to Abilene, Kansas
transcontinental railroad railroad across United States, connecting East and West
Treaty of Fort Laramie first major agreement signed with northern Plains nations
reservations areas of federal land set aside for Native Americans
Crazy Horse Sioux leader who violently protested reservations
buffalo soldiers nickname given by Indians to African American cavalry
George Armstrong Custer army commander who lost to the Sioux at Little Bighorn
Sitting Bull Sioux leader who defeated Custer at Little Bighorn
Battle of the Little Bighorn last great victory for Sioux, in which they defeated Custer
Massacre at Wounded Knee battle in which U.S. troops killed about 150 Sioux
Geronimo Apache leader who continued to fight against the U.S. Army until 1886
Ghost Dance religious movement predicting a coming paradise for Native Americans
Dawes General Allotment Act act that took back almost 70 percent of reservation land
Homestead Act an 1862 act that gave government-owned land to farmers
Exodusters African Americans who left the South for Kansas in 1879
sodbusters nickname given Great Plains farmers because of the toughness of the soil
dry farming farming using hardy crops that need less water than others
deflation a decrease in the money supply and overall lower prices
William Jennings Bryan Democratic candidate for president in the 1888 election
Populist Party new national party formed by the country’s farmers
Second Industrial Revolution a period of rapid growth in U.S. manufacturing in the
late 1800s
Bessemer process Henry Bessemer’s invention that made steel production faster and
cheaper
Thomas Edison inventor who created the electric lightbulb
patent an exclusive right to make or sell an invention
Alexander Graham Bell inventor of the telephone
Henry Ford inventor of the first affordable car and the moving assembly line
Wilbur and Orville Wright brothers
who made the first piloted flight in a gas-powered
airplane
implement to put in place
corporations businesses owned
by stockholders
Andrew Carnegie business leader who concentrated his efforts on steel production
vertical integration owning the businesses involved in each step of manufacturing
John D. Rockefeller business leader who concentrated on oil refining
horizontal integration owning all of the businesses in a certain field
trust a legal arrangement grouping together a number of companies under a single
board of directors
social Darwinism belief that Charles Darwin’s theory of natural selection and “survival
of the fittest” holds true for humans
monopoly total ownership of a product or service
Sherman Antitrust Act law that made it illegal to monopolize a business
Knights of Labor large labor union that included both skilled and unskilled workers
Samuel Gompers leader of the American Federation of Labor
American Federation of Labor group that organized individual national unions of
skilled workers
collective bargaining workers acting together for better wages or working conditions
Mary Harris Jones union supporter who organized strikes and educated workers
Haymarket Riot a union protest in Chicago where strikers fought with police
Homestead strike violent 1892 strike of Carnegie steelworkers ended by state militia
Pullman strike strike of Pullman railroad workers that ended in 1894 when federal
troops were sent to stop it
old immigrants people who arrived from northern Europe in the mid-1800s
new immigrants people who arrived from southern and eastern Europe in the late
1800s
steerage an area below a ship’s deck where immigrants often traveled
benevolent societies organizations that offered help to immigrant families
tenements poorly built, overcrowded apartment buildings
sweatshops workplaces in small shops with poor working conditions and low pay
Chinese Exclusion Act law in 1880 banning immigration by Chinese people for ten years
suburbs residential neighborhoods outside of downtown areas
mass culture leisure and cultural activities shared by many people
Joseph Pulitzer publisher of New York World newspaper
William Randolph Hearst publisher of New York Journal newspaper
Frederick Law Olmsted landscape architect who designed Central Park in New York
Jacob Riis journalist and photographer who exposed the horrible conditions in New
York City tenements
settlement houses neighborhood centers in poor areas that offered education,
recreation, and social activities
Jane Addams founder of Hull House
Hull House Chicago’s most famous settlement house
political machines powerful organizations that influenced local governments
Progressives reformers who wanted to solve the problems of a fast-growing society
muckrakers journalists who exposed the corruption, scandal, and filth of society
Seventeenth Amendment a law letting Americans vote directly for U.S. senators
recall a vote to remove an official before the end of his or her term
initiative procedure allowing voters to propose a new law
referendum procedure permitting voters to approve or reject a law
Triangle Shirtwaist Fire tragic fire that killed 146 workers
capitalism system in which private businesses run most industries and competition
determines how much goods cost
socialism system in which government owns and operates a country’s industry
Eighteenth Amendment amendment banning production and sale of alcoholic drinks
National American Woman Suffrage Association group that worked for women’s voting
rights, founded by Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony
Nineteenth Amendment a constitutional amendment giving women the right to vote
Booker T. Washington African American educator who encouraged other African
Americans to improve their own lives rather than fight discrimination
Ida B. Wells African American journalist who publicized lynchings in her newspaper
W. E. B. Du Bois African American reformer who publicized cases of racial prejudice
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP)organization that
brought attention to racial inequality
Spanish American War-last less than 4 months called, “A splendid little war” –US acquired Guam,
Philippines, and Puerto Rico from the Spanish- Cuba gained its independence
Theodore (Teddy)Roosevelt –Rough Rider in Spanish American War vice president who became
president upon McKinley’s death
Pure Food and Drug Act law stopping the manufacture, sale, or transportation of
mislabeled or contaminated food and drugs
conservation protection of nature and its resources
Progressive Party nicknamed the Bull Moose Party; formed so Roosevelt could run
for President in 1912
Woodrow Wilson Democratic president who worked to regulate tariffs, banking, and
Business-WWI-League of Nations -14 Points
Sixteenth Amendment amendment that allows the federal government to impose
direct taxes on people’s incomes
imperialism the practice of building an empire by founding colonies or conquering
other nations
isolationism a policy of avoiding involvement in the affairs of other countries
William H. Seward Secretary of State who arranged for the purchase of Alaska in 1867
spheres of influence areas where foreign nations control trade and natural resources
Open Door Policy policy stating that all nations should have equal access to trade in
China
yellow journalism technique that exaggerates and sensationalizes news stories
Teller Amendment war resolution amendment stating that the United States had no
interest in taking control of Cuba
*Anti-Imperialist League organization that accused the United States of building a
colonial empire
*Platt Amendment amendment to Cuba’s constitution that limited Cuba’s rights and
kept the United States involved in Cuban affairs
Panama Canal canal built in Panama that shortened the Atlantic-to-Pacific voyage
Roosevelt Corollary President Theodore Roosevelt’s warning that nations in the
Western Hemisphere should pay their debts and “behave” ”Big Stick” Diplomacy
dollar diplomacy President William Howard Taft’s policy of influencing governments
through economic intervention
John J. Pershing United States general who pursued Pancho Villa through Mexico but
never caught him
militarism an aggressive strengthening of armed forces
Archduke Francis Ferdinand the heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary who was assassinated
in 1914
mobilize to prepare for military war
Central Powers an alliance of Austria-Hungary and Germany at the start of the war
Allied Powers an alliance among France, Russia, and Britain at the start of the war
trench warfare defending a position by fighting from deep ditches
stalemate a situation in which neither side can win a decisive victory
U-boats submarines used by the German navy in World War I
Lusitania a British passenger ship sunk by a German U-boat in 1915
Zimmerman Note a secret telegram from the German foreign minister Zimmerman to
Mexico proposing an alliance against the United States
Selective Service Act a law that required men between ages of 21 and 30 to register to
be drafted into military service
Liberty bonds bonds issued to raise billions of dollars for the Allies’ war efforts
American Expeditionary Force U. S. troops sent to Europe during World War I
Communists people who favor the equal distribution of wealth and the end of all
forms of private property
armistice a truce between opponents that ends hostilities
League of Nations an international assembly of nations to settle disputes between
countries and encourage democracy
reparations payments for war damages
Treaty of Versailles a final peace settlement of World War I
Teapot Dome scandal the acceptance of bribes by Secretary of the Interior Albert Fall
in exchange for control of government oil reserves
Kellogg-Briand Pact an unenforceable agreement among 62 nations to outlaw war
Model T a low-cost automobile invented by Ford
moving assembly line a production system that moves
parts between groups of
workers
Herbert Hoover a president elected in 1928 with promises for more prosperity
flappers young women in the 1920s who challenged traditional women’s roles
Red Scare a period of fear of Communists and radicals in the United States
Twenty-first Amendment a Constitutional Amendment that repealed prohibition
Scopes trial the trial of John Scopes for teaching evolution in school
Great Migration the movement of African Americans to northern cities
Marcus Garvey a black leader who encouraged an independent black economy
talkie motion picture with sound
Jazz Age name given to the 1920s due to the popularity of jazz music
Harlem Renaissance period of African American artistic accomplishment in New
York City
Langston Hughes poet and writer who wrote about African American life
Lost Generation writers in the 1920s who criticized American society
expatriates people who live outside their home country
Georgia O’Keeffe innovative artist famous for her detailed drawings of flowers
buying on margin purchasing stocks with borrowed money
Black Tuesday Tuesday, October 29, 1929, the day of the stock market crash
business cycle up-and-down pattern of business production and unemployment
Great Depression severe, economic depression that followed the stock crash of 1929
Bonus Army unemployed World War I veterans who camped in Washington D.C. to
demand early payment of military bonuses
Franklin D. Roosevelt New York governor elected president in the 1932 election
New Deal programs developed by Roosevelt and Congress to aid economic recovery
fireside chats radio addresses in which Roosevelt spoke directly to the public
Tennessee Valley Authority New Deal program to build dams to provide electricity in
the Tennessee River valley
Frances Perkins Roosevelt’s Secretary of Labor, the first female cabinet member
Eleanor Roosevelt First Lady in Roosevelt administration who supported New Deal
Social Security Act federal law that started programs to ensure economic well-being
of citizens who could not provide for themselves
sit-down strike strategy in which striking workers remained inside the workplace
Dust Bowl region of the Great Plains affected by extreme drought and dust storms
Mary McLeod Bethune African American educator appointed as an adviser by
President Roosevelt
John Steinbeck novelist who wrote about the hardships of the Great Depression
Woody Guthrie Depression-era folksinger from Oklahoma
totalitarianism political system in which the government controls every aspect of
citizens’ lives.
Benito Mussolini fascist Italian dictator who ruled from 1922 to 1944
fascism political system headed by a strong leader in which the state is more
important than the individual
Adolf Hitler politician and World War I veteran who took advantage of public anger
to become chancellor of Germany in 1933
Nazis National Socialist Party members who controlled Germany from 1933 to 1945
Joseph Stalin Communist dictator of the Soviet Union who gained control in 1928
Axis Powers World War II alliance of Germany, Italy, and Japan
appeasement policy of avoiding war by giving in to demands
Winston Churchill British prime minister during World War II
Allied Powers alliance between Great Britain and France in 1939, and later, the Soviet
Union and the United States
Lend-Lease Act law allowing the president to aid any nation vital to U. S. defense
Pearl Harbor American naval base in Hawaii attacked by Japan on December 7, 1941
War Production Board board created to oversee the conversion of factories to war
production
A. Philip Randolph African American labor leader who protested unfair treatment in
factories
Tuskegee Airmen African American pilots who trained in Tuskegee, Alabama
Benjamin O. Davis group leader of Tuskegee Airmen and later the first African
American general in the U. S. Air Force
zoot-suit riots Los Angeles riots in which white mobs attacked Mexican Americans
internment forced relocation and imprisonment of Japanese Americans during WWII
Battle of El Alamein battle in which Montgomery’s British troops stopped Rommel’s
Afrika Korps in North Africa in November 1942
Dwight D. Eisenhower American general who commanded Allied forces in Europe;
later elected U.S. president
Battle of Stalingrad key battle in which Soviets stopped German advance in winter of
1942–1943
D-Day date of Allied sea invasion of occupied France—June 6, 1944
Douglas MacArthur general who commanded U.S. ground troops in the Pacific
Battle of Midway key Pacific battle in which Japanese navy was severely weakened
island hopping strategy of attacking only key Pacific islands
kamikaze tactic of purposely crashing piloted planes into enemy ships
Battle of the Bulge key battle at the Ardennes forest; Allies were victorious after an
initially successful German attack
Harry S. Truman vice president who became president when Roosevelt died in 1945
Holocaust Nazi program of mass murder against the Jewish people
genocide extermination of an entire group of people
Manhattan Project secret American research program to develop the atomic bomb
atomic bomb weapon that produces tremendous power by splitting atoms
Yalta Conference meeting of Roosevelt, Churchill, and Stalin to agree on postwar
strategies
Nuremberg trials postwar trial of Nazi leaders for war crimes
United Nations organization of nations dedicated to finding peaceful solutions to
international conflicts
Cold War long struggle between the United States and Soviet Union for global power
containment policy of preventing the Soviet Union from expanding its influence
Truman Doctrine policy of providing aid to help countries fight communism
Marshall Plan U.S. grants and loans to fund European recovery from World War II
North Atlantic Treaty Organization mutual
defense alliance of United States, Canada,
Iceland, and nine Western European nations
GI Bill of Rights laws to help returning veterans readjust after the war
Fair Deal domestic programs and civil rights protections proposed by Truman
Mao Zedong Communist leader who established the People’s Republic of China
38th parallel line that marked the division between North Korea and South Korea
Joseph McCarthy Wisconsin senator who made charges of communism in the government
and the military
hydrogen bomb nuclear weapon far more powerful than the atomic bomb
arms race rush by the United States and the Soviet Union to build more weapons
Sputnik world’s first artificial satellite, launched by the Soviet Union in 1957
brinkmanship willingness to go to the brink of war to stop communism
baby boom a significant increase in the number of babies born
urban renewal programs to improve services and housing in deteriorating cities
Thurgood Marshall attorney and first African American Supreme Court justice
Brown v. Board of Education lawsuit challenging the segregation of public schools
Little Rock Nine first black students to attend a school forced to integrate in Little
Rock, Arkansas
Rosa Parks African American woman who refused to give up her seat on a public bus
to a white passenger
Montgomery bus boycott nonviolent protest of segregation in public transportation
Martin Luther King Jr. civil rights leader who inspired nonviolent protests against
discrimination
sit-in demonstration in which protestors sit down and refuse to leave
Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee student activists who organized
nonviolent civil rights protests and voter registration drives
John F. Kennedy U.S. president elected in 1960
Freedom Rides a series of protests in which black and white passengers tried to
integrate Southern bus stations
March on Washington massive civil rights demonstration in Washington, D.C. in 1963
Lyndon B. Johnson U.S. president after Kennedy was assassinated
Civil Rights Act of 1964 law banning segregation in public places and workplace
discrimination
Voting Rights Act of 1965 law protecting African Americans’ voting rights
Great Society Johnson’s program to end poverty and racial injustice
Black Power movement that called for African American power and independence
Malcolm X leader who combined ideas about independence with teachings of Islam
National Organization for Women organization to fight for opportunities for women
Shirley Chisholm first African American woman elected to U.S. Congress
Equal Rights Amendment constitutional amendment to outlaw all discrimination
based on gender
American Indian Movement group formed in 1968 to fight for Native American rights
Disabled in Action activist organization for rights of disabled people
Peace Corps program that sent volunteers to developing countries to help with
projects such as digging wells and building schools
Fidel Castro Cuban rebel leader who led a revolution and established a Communist
government
Berlin Wall Cold War barrier that separated the city of Berlin, Germany into two parts
Cuban missile crisis attempt by Soviet Union to send nuclear missiles to Cuba
followed by American blockade
Neil Armstrong American astronaut; the first man to walk on the moon
Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin crewmate of Neil Armstrong; second man to walk on the moon
Ho Chi Minh leader of Communist revolution against the French in Vietnam
domino theory concern that if one nation became Communist, nearby nations would
follow
Vietcong guerrilla fighters opposed to the South Vietnamese government
Tonkin Gulf Resolution Congressional action that gave military authority to President
Johnson
Ho Chi Minh Trail paths and tunnels used as a supply route by the North Vietnamese
Tet Offensive series of coordinated surprise attacks launched by the Vietcong and
North Vietnamese on the Vietnamese New Year (Tet)—January 30, 1968
doves opponents of the war who felt money would be better spent on domestic
programs
hawks supporters of the war who felt that winning the Cold War was the top priority
Students for a Democratic Society student group active in protesting the Vietnam War
hippies people who “dropped out” of mainstream society and built a counterculture
during the 1960s
Richard M. Nixon Republican president elected in 1968
Henry Kissinger national security adviser to President Nixon
Vietnamization strategy of having the South Vietnamese army take over the fighting
Twenty-sixth Amendment constitutional amendment lowering the voting age to 18
Vietnam Veterans Memorial granite wall in Washington, D.C. listing names of soldiers
killed and missing in Vietnam
Strategic Arms Limitation Talks agreements between the United States and the Soviet
Union limiting nuclear weapons
détente period of less hostile relations between United States and Soviet Union
Watergate scandal involving the planning and coverup of a burglary by the Nixon
Administration
Gerald Ford vice president who became president when Nixon resigned in 1974
pardon order granting freedom from punishment
affirmative action practice of giving special consideration to nonwhites or women to
make up for past discrimination
human rights basic rights and freedoms of all people
deficit amount by which a government’s spending exceeds its income
Iran-Contra affair controversial plan for the United States to sell missiles to Iran and
give the profits to Nicaraguan rebels known as Contras
Mikhail Gorbachev Soviet leader who initiated changes in government policies and
new freedoms for Soviet people
Saddam Hussein Iraqi dictator
Operation Desert Storm U.S.-led coalition offensive to drive Iraqi troops from Kuwait
Colin Powell former chairman of the joint chiefs of staff and highest ranking African
American to serve in the U.S. military; later served as Secretary of State
North American Free Trade Agreement treaty to
end trade barriers between the United
States, Canada, and Mexico
terrorism use of violence by individuals or small groups to advance political goals
Al Gore Bill Clinton’s vice president; Democratic presidential nominee in 2000
George W. Bush U.S. president elected in 2000
World Trade Center important business center in New York City
Pentagon headquarters of the U.S. Department of Defense, near Washington, D.C.
al Qaeda fundamentalist Islamic terrorist group
Osama bin Laden wealthy Saudi exile who led al Qaeda
weapons of mass destruction chemical, biological, and nuclear weapons capable of
killing thousands of people
service economy most workers have jobs providing services rather than producing
goods
globalization growing connections between economies and cultures worldwide
Internet global system of computer networks
Information Revolution changes that made it easier and faster for people to access and
share information
AIDS acquired immune deficiency syndrome; disease that causes the body’s immune
system to shut down
ozone layer thin layer of gas in the upper atmosphere that blocks harmful rays from
the sun
global warming increase in Earth’s temperature
End-of-Year Test
1. d 12. b
2. d 13. b
3. b 14. c
4. b 15. d
5. d 16. d
6. a 17. d
7. a 18. b
8. b 19. b
9. b 20. a
10. a 21. a
11. d 22. a